Ever since I posted my success with a natural tick repellent (see that post HERE), I’ve been getting tons of questions asking about a natural flea repellent or a natural flea powder.

And I didn’t have any experience with any of the natural flea
repellents out there so I couldn’t make any personal recommendations to
you……until now. My big boy just turned 5 at the beginning of summer (isn’t he so
handsome?!). And we’ve been blessed with not having any flea issues
during those past 5 years.

But at the end of April, we moved into an older house even deeper in
the woods of Pennsylvania. And soon after we moved in, we
discovered that it was totally infested with fleas. UGH!

My poor buddy was being eaten alive by these nasty fleas. Ohmigosh,
it was so horrible. I literally felt sick to my stomach watching him
scratch and itch. His poor tail was raw, red and inflamed from him
chewing on it so much.

I absolutely hated the idea of putting any sort of toxic chemical
flea treatment on my dog. Those products are the #1 cause of pet
poisonings. Did you know that on those commercial flea and tick
repellents, there’s a big warning to not let it come into contact with
human skin. So somehow it’s ok to put all over my dog?!! I don’t think
so!

I needed to do something and using toxic chemicals was going to be my
very LAST resort. Once I realized that we had a pretty major flea
problem, I broke out my holistic pet care books (THIS and THIS) and consulted with a holistic vet friend.

And today I’m giving you my homemade flea powder recipe that I now
swear by. This flea powder worked at getting rid of a pretty major flea
infestation in our home.

And I didn’t have to use any toxic chemicals!!!! Bonus – this flea
powder also works at repelling and killing ticks, flies, mosquitos,
ants, spiders and other bugs. This is awesome stuff!

*Note: If you don’t want to make this recipe yourself, you can buy Buck Mountain Parasite Dust HERE – I based my homemade flea powder off of this product. But it is much more cost effective to make it yourself, especially if you have a flea infestation because you are going to need a lot of it.

Ingredient List and Benefits of Homemade Flea Powder:

This homemade flea powder is composed of Diatom Flour, Neem Powder,
Yarrow Powder and Eucalyptus Oil. All 4 ingredients are traditionally
used as very effective insect repellents and recommend by many holistic
vets as a successful flea and insect killer and repellent.

Food Grade Diatom Flour (also called Diatomaceous Earth or DE)

Diatomaceous Earth is soft powder made up of fossilized remains of
tiny aquatic organisms called diatoms. Their skeletons are made of a
natural substance called silica. Under a microscope, DE is very sharp,
allowing it to puncture the exoskeleton of insects and causing them
death by dehydration. Diatomaceous Earth kills insects by physical
action, not chemical. It’s important to note that DE particles are so
small so it just feels like a fine baby powder to humans and pets. It is
a simply a mineral silica. Food grade, fresh water DE is harmless to
humans and pets. For more information about the safety of food grade DE,
see the end note at the bottom of this post.

Neem Powder

Neem is an herb used in Ayurvedic medicine. It has been used for
centuries as a very effective herbal insect repellent, repelling fleas,
ticks, lice, mites, ants and mosquitoes. Neem has a few natural active
ingredients that make it so effective . For example, the compound in
Neem, Azadirachtin, disrupts the metamorphosis of insect larvae. So by
inhibiting molting, Neem keeps the larvae from developing and they die
without producing a new generation. Azadirachtin is so repulsive to
insects that they would rather starve to death than touch anything with
traces of neem. Another neem compound is called salannin and it’s
equally as effective of a repellent. In a few studies, it’s even been
proven even more effective at repelling biting insects than those
repellents containing the chemical concoction of DEET.Neem also has many moisturizing properties and helps get rid of
excess dryness and scaling. It helps soothe irritated skin. The
anti-bacterial properties of neem prevent development of any further
skin infection. Because Diatomaceous Earth can by very drying, Neem
helps protect your pet from excess dry skin.

Yarrow Powder

Yarrow’s most ancient use and most famous use in the herbal medicine
world is as a natural wound healer. It’s also considered a sacred herb
by many cultures around the world because of it’s healing ability.
Yarrow is a wonderful anti-inflammatory for skin conditions and soothes
irritated skin. It is also anti-microbial and has pain relieving
properties. Because pets with fleas tend to get secondary infections
from flea bites, Yarrow protects your pet from those secondary
infections and also helps soothe red, irritated skin.

Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus, Eucalyptus citriodoro) is a natural
bug and insect repellent. There is evidence that the components in
eucalyptus oil are as effective and sometimes more effective than DEET.
Eucalptus oil also has antiseptic properties for healing after bites.

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together and put in a shaker top container. I
used a mason jar with a shaker top lid (I got my mason jar shaker top
lid at Christmas Tree Shop, but you could make your own by drilling
holes in a regular mason jar lid). Apply from head to tail along your pets spine in dry conditions.
Brush your pets fur going the opposite direction so the powder comes in
contact with the skin. Avoid the eyes and nose. Rub the powder on the
belly and legs. Try to get the flea powder on as much skin as you can.I have found that brushing the fur in the opposite direction and applying the flea powder with a cosmetic puff (like THIS)
works really well. I also found the fleas seem to like the tail, the
area right above the tail and the belly/groin area so I made sure to pay
extra attention to those areas to get them well covered.

How often to apply flea powder?

To use this as a general repellent (with no serious flea
infestation), applying once a month during active flea season (end of
spring/summer) is sufficient. If the pet gets a bath or gets wet, it
will need to be reapplied.

If you have a flea infestation:

You will need to apply more often, depending on how bad of an
infestation you are dealing with. I applied every other day until I saw
no more traces of fleas (now I’m just using it as maintenance). Some are
successful with applying as little as once a week, but others need it
more often – it just depends on the level of infestation. Also remember
to reapply if your pet gets wet (important!). If you have a flea infestation, you will also need to apply this flea
powder to your floors, windowsills, door sills, pet bedding, sofa, etc.
Focus your efforts where your pet spends the most amount of time, since
fleas and their eggs will be the most concentrated in those areas. Just
apply a light dusting to the areas in your house and leave it there
overnight. Vacuum in the morning or sometime the next day. Do this once a week for 4 weeks if you have a flea infestation.

This flea powder works amazingly, BUT, it will not work overnight if you have a flea infestation.
You must be diligent about applying it to your pet AND applying the
powder to your home and vacuuming at least once per week for 4 weeks in a
row to get rid of an infestation.

You can even use this flea powder it in your yard to repel and kill fleas, ticks, spiders, ants, mosquitos, etc!

I also leave a little bit of this flea powder in my door and window
sills to prevent spiders, ants and other bugs from entering.

Based on my research and the advice of my holistic vet friend, I’ve
learned some really great tips and other options about how to get rid of
fleas naturally, including a few options that are holistic vet
recommended that you can purchase if you are not a do it yourself-er.
That is covered in PART 2 that you can read HERE (this post was already long enough ).

End Note: Is Diatomaceous Earth safe?

Somewhere along the line, a rumor was started that Food Grade
Diatomaceous Earth was harmful to your lungs if breathed in. This is
true for Crystallized or Filter Grade Diatomaceous Earth where it can
cause a disease called silicoses if breathed in for very long periods of
time. But this is NOT true for food grade Diatomaceous Earth, which we
are using (it’s very important to make sure your DE is FOOD GRADE!).
Food grade DE is processed and shaped differently than crystallized
diatomaceous earth and is not harmful to pets or people. Food grade DE
is recognized as safe for animal and human use, safe for consumption and
even safe for those pregnant and nursing. Like any dusty product, you
probably want to wear a dust mask if you will be breathing it in for a
long period of time such as when dusting your yard.